United States—Donald Trump’s marquee properties are in danger of being seized by New York State unless he posts a bond covering the USD 454 million civil fraud judgment by Monday. He faces a Monday deadline to avoid such a development.
Fraud Allegations Mount
Trump, who wants to come back to the White House this year, has to pay the money from his own pocket or deposit the bond during the appeal against Justice Arthur Engoron’s Feb. 16 verdict, which stated that he played a central role in the fraud, he and his, the Trump Organization misrepresented his net worth and property valuations to get lenders and insurers, as reported by Reuters.
On Monday morning, Trump used social media to declare the Engoron number was “fraudulent.”
“It should be ZERO; I DID NOTHING WRONG!” he replied.
The Trump campaign on Friday had sent a fundraising begging for a total of one million pro-Trump patriots for the “iconic Trump Tower” Trump tower.
The accusation denotes the heart of his political image as a capturable businessperson. Mr. Trump became a household name on account of his extremely expensive projects such as the Trump Tower in Manhattan and talks about his company’s financial success – though his companies have got into trouble too in the past.
Trump, the Republican candidate contesting Democratic President Joe Biden in the Nov. 5, 2024, US elections, is struggling with an array of financial difficulties, such as lower campaign fundraising compared to the rival nominee.
Property Portfolio at Risk
On the other hand, the judgment in the case was entered in Manhattan, where there are Trump properties such as Trump Tower or 40 Wall Street owned by the real estate developer, which could be easily in the sights of New York Attorney General Letitia James, who’s a Democrat that brought the civil case in 2022.
Besides, James has made Westchester County officials in the county, which is just outside the City of New York, notice about the judgment. There is a possibility of stripping assets such as a Trump golf course and a 60-room mansion called Seven Springs.
Trump’s Defense Strategy
Trump’s businesses would raise many legal and logistical questions for the attorney general’s office that was to take over. It would be more feasible to use allies to ensure they do not get sold or transferred and then go after his/her immediate resources.
Trump has given an account of himself not guilty and portrayed the situation as politically motivated. The former president of the United States was the first one ever to be charged in four different cases. Trump has pleaded not guilty in all of these.
During one of those matters, the New York judge is slated to hear Trump’s bids to reschedule a mid-April trial over the charges connected to the hush money payments to the pornographic film actress Stormy Daniels before the 2016 presidential US elections.
‘FIRE SALE PRICES’
Lawyers for Trump argued the civil fraud case and said that 30 surety companies had declined the condition that he post the judgment as a bond. They requested that a surety company that posts USD 100 million be allowed instead. They have outlined an application to a mid-level state appeals court to have the execution date early.
Trump said during his 2023 testimony that his companies had a huge USD 400 million in cash. On Friday, he speculated in a social media post that he had nearly USD 500 million in cash intended to be used more than half on the campaign.
“I will be forced to mortgage or sell Great Assets, perhaps at Fire Sale prices,” Trump wrote on social media last week.
On Friday, a step closer to a windfall, Trump handled the situation when the stock market investors approved a USD 5.7 billion deal to list a company that owns Truth Social. As a result of his majority place in the company, Trump Media and Technology Group, the value is estimated at 3.3 billion.
However, if the deal gets through this week, it is still unclear if this will help Trump get over the punishment. That is due to the fact that he agreed with those terms before, which provided him with the necessity not to sell his stocks for six months of borrowing against them.
While the three-month non-jury trial in Manhattan’s Manhattan comes to an end, Engoron finds Trump has been guilty of fraud by the overvaluation of various properties, including his Mar-a-Lago estate in Florida, his penthouse apartment in Manhattan’s Trump Tower and numerous office buildings and golf courses, as reported by Reuters.
This is not the only case that has drained Trump’s finances. Then, last week, Trump posted a USD 91.6 million insurance bond to cover the USD 83.3 million defamation verdict for writer E. Jean Carroll, which he is now seeking to overturn. After Trump used the term “liar” against a woman who had accused him of decades of rape, she sued him. He has denied wrongdoing.